Justifying spaceband



June 29, 1937. A, L C|||| D 2,085,147

JUSTIFYING SPACEBAND Filed Feb. 2l, 1936 Pfg. 6. b z FQ' 7- E ,B

.INVENTOR AYYURNEKf Patented June 29, 1937 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICEJUSTIFYING SPACEBAND tion of New York Application February 21, 1936,Serial No. 65,018

14 Claims.

This invention relates to jutifying spacers or spacebands, such as areused in the typographical composing and casting machines knowncommercially under the trade mark Linotype, and

5 kindred machines, for the justifying of composed lines of matricesprior to the casting operations.

These spacers or spacebands are ordinarily formed of two main parts,viz., two oppositely wedge-shaped members, one shorter than the l otherand known as the stationary part and provided with ears by which it isheld against movement during justification, and the second or longermember which is slidably connected (by tongue and groove portions) tothe shorter one l in such manner as to enable it to be forced upwardsthrough the composed line for effecting the justification.

I-leretofore, the tongue and groove portions of the spacebands have hadat least one pair of their contacting surfaces in the same plane as thesurfaces of the two members that are in sliding contact. Thisconstruction has made is difficult, if not impossible, to machine thecontacting surfaces by grinding and has necessitated careful milling andfitting of the parts.

According to the present improvements, the tongue and groove portionsthat guide the two members one on another and hold them against lateralseparation are offset or displaced in their entirety out of the plane ofthe contacting surfaces of the members, with the result that thesesurfaces may be ground with facility even though the tongue and grooveportions are not.

Referring to the drawing which shows the parts of the spaceband on agreatly enlarged scale,

Fig. 1 is a face view, showing the shorter meml ber in its uppermostposition in solid lines and in its lowermost position in dotted lines;

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal section taken on line 2 2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a face View of the shorter member, showing the face oppositeto that illustrated in Fig. l;

Fig. 4 is an edge view of the member shown in Fie. 3;

Fig. 5 is a horizontal section taken on line 5--5 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 6 is a horizontal section taken on line 6 6 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 7 is a horizontal section taken on line 7 1 of Fig. l; and

Fig. 8 is a horizontal section similar to Fig. 7, but illustrating astandard form of spaceband devoid of the present improvements.

A spaceband of the kind referred toY comprises two wedge-shaped membersA and B secured together for relative slidable movement, the shortermember A being provided with ears A1 by which it is held againstvertical movement during justilication. The member A is machined to agood finish along its marginal edges a to provide a plane surface forsliding contact with the member B; and in its lower portion,intermediate the marginal surfaces, it is formed with a raisedwedge-shaped portion A2 that cooperates in a manner hereinafterdescribed with the longer member B to hold the parts against separation.

The longer wedge member B has formed in it, a longitudinal slot orrecess B1 terminating just short of the upper end of the member, andextending entirely through the member except in the lower portion orthick end of the wedge. Here too, the member B, to provide a planesurface for contact with the member A, is machined to a good finishalong its marginal portions b 20 contiguous to the slot B1. The slot B1is adapted to receive the Wedge-shaped portion A2 of the shorter memberand cooperate with it to guide the members in their relative slidingmovement during justification. 25

The members A and B are held against separation laterally by a tongueand groove connection, the opposed edges of the slot or recess B1presenting bevelled tongues B2 and the lateral edges of the wedgeportion A2 presenting complementary bevelled grooves A3. During assemblyof the parts, the wedge portion A2 is slid into the recess B1 from theopen or lower end thereof, and the wedge member B is thereafter providedwith a pin B3 adjacent its lower end which acts as a stop for the wedgemember A and thus prevents the parts from sliding apart longitudinallywhen 1n use.

In order more clearly to appreciate the differences between the improvedspaceband and the standard form heretofore in use, reference may be hadto Fig. 8 which depicts a horizontal section through the standard formof spaceband and wherein, for purposes of distinction, the longerwedge-shaped member is designated C, the shorter member D, the raisedportion on the shorter member D1, the grooves formed therein d, and thecomplementary tongues of the longer member c. It will be noted that oneface, both of the tongue portions c and the groove portions d, are inthe same plane as, and indeed are extended portions of, the surfaces ofthe members C and D that are in sliding contact. This arrangement hasnecessitated very accurate machining of all the contacting surfaces aswell as careful fitting of the 'cooperating parts, and even thenstandardization has been almost impossible. Furthermore, it haspractically precluded the grinding of the surfaces (which is mostdesirable for the 5 proper working of the spaceband during justifica.-

tion) because obviously the grinding tool or wheel can not extendbeneath the overhanging portion that presents the upper surface of thegroove d.

In the new or improved construction, the

grooves A3 in the wedge portion A2 are in their entirety offset from orraised above the plane of the contacting surfaces of the two members Aand B, i. e., the wedge portion A2 presents a pair of shoulders A4 atits opposite edges and extending throughout its entire length. The widthof the wedge portion A2 is widest in the region of the shoulders and asthe outer faces thereof constitute one of the faces of the groove A3, itis apparent that no portion of the grooves extends beyond the laterallimits of the shoulders. With this arrangement, the grooves A3 and themarginal surfaces a of the member A are entirely independent, and thelatter may therefore be ground without having to grind the grooves..

In order to accommodate the shoulder portions A4, the tongues B2 of themember B are cut out or recessed as at B4, along the marginal surfacesb. Here too, it will be seen that the marginal surfaces b areindependent of the recessed portions B4 and can be machined by grindingwithout having to grind said recessed portions.

Of course, the grooves A3 and the tonguesB2 will have to be machined, asusual, but as. these parts no longer form any portion of the slidingbearing surfaces of the finished spaceband, the machining need not be soaccurately done, since their function now is only'to guide one memberalong the other .and to hold the parts against separation laterally.Indeed the fit between the 40 cooperating tongue and groove portions maybe what can be characterized as a careless one.

The improved spaceband presents many advantages over the old. Forexample, by setting up proper tolerances, the members A and B can bestandardized, thus rendering corresponding parts interchangeable andthereby materially reducing cost, both as regards original manufactureand repair of the parts. Moreover, the behavior of the new spaceband inuse is far superior to that of the old due to the machine grinding ofthe bearing surfaces which slide upon each other smoothly and easily asthe spaceband is expanded during justification.

In the accompanying drawing, the invention has been shown merely by wayof example and in preferred form, and obviously many variations andmodifications may be made therein which will still be comprised withinits spirit. It is to be understood, therefore, that the invention is notlimited to any specific form or embodiment, exceptV insofar as suchlimitations are specified in'the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

1. A justifying spaceband including, in combination, a pair ofrelatively movable complementary wedge-shaped members presenting innersurfaces in bearing contact, and meansy for guiding the members in theirrelative movement,

said means in their entirety being offset from the plane of the bearingsurfaces.

2. A justifying spacebancl including, in combination, a pair ofrelatively movable complementary 'wedge-shaped members presenting innersurfaces in bearing contact, and means for guiding the members in theirrelative movement, said means including a tongue formed on one of saidmembers, and a complementary groove formed in the other member toreceive the tongue, said tongue and groove portions in their entiretybeing offset from the plane of the bearing surfaces.

3. A justifying spaceband including, in combination, a pair ofrelatively movable complementary wedge-shaped members presenting innersurfaces in bearing contact, one member being formed with a raisedwedge-shaped portion formed in its lateral edges and spaced from theplane of the bearing surfaces with a groove arranged to receive acomplementary tongue formed in the other member for guiding said membersin their relative movement.

4. A justifying spaceband according to claim 3, wherein the tonguetherein mentioned is likewise spaced from the plane of the bearingsurfaces.

5. A justifying spacebandincluding, in combination, a pair of relativelymovable complementary wedge-shaped members presenting inner surfaces inbearing contact, one member being formed with a raised wedge-shapedportion presenting, at its opposite edges, shoulders offset from theplane of the bearing surfaces and grooves adjacent said shoulders, andthe other member presenting tongues interfitting said grooves as well asrecesses to accommodate said shoulders.

6. A justifying spaceband including, in combination, a pair ofrelatively movable complementary Wedge-shaped members, one shorter thanthe other, and theY two presenting inner surfaces in bearing contact,said shorter member having a raised wedge-shaped portion formed in itsopposite edges with means adapted to interfit complementary means formedon the longer member to guide said members in their relative movement,while holding them against relative facewise displacement, the bearingsurface on the shorter member terminating at the lateral edges of saidraised wedge-shaped portion.

7. A justifying spaceband including, in combination, a pair ofrelatively movable complementary wedge-shaped members, one shorter thanthe other, and the two presenting inner surfaces in bearing contact,said shorter member having a raised wedge-shaped portion formed in itsopposite edges with grooves adapted to interiit complementary tongueportions formed on the longer member, the bearing surface of the shortermember terminating at the outer lateral extremities of the grooves.

8. A justifying spaceband including, in combination, a pair ofrelatively movable complementary wedge-shaped members, one shorter thanthe other, `and the two presenting inner surfaces in bearing contact,said shorter member having a raised Wedge-Shaped portion formed in itsopposite edges with grooves adapted to intert complementary tongueportions on Vthe longer member, the bearing surface on the shortermember terminating at the outer lateral extremities of the groovesformed in the wedgeshaped portion, and the bearing surface of the longermember terminating" at the base of the tongue portion.

9. A justifying spaceband including, in combination, a pair ofrelatively movable complementary wedge-shaped members, one shorter thanthe other, and the two presenting inner surfaces in bearing contact,said shorter member having a raised wedge-shaped portion presenting atits opposite edges shoulders oiiset from the plane of the bearingsurfaces and grooves adjacent said shoulders, and said longer memberpresenting complementary tongues ntertting said grooves and recesses toaccommodate the shoulders, the bearing surface on the shorter memberterminating at the lateral edges of the shoulder portion, and thebearing surface of the longer member terminating at the lateral edges ofthe recesses which accommodate the shoulder portions.

10. A justifying spaceband including, in combination, a pair ofrelatively movable complementary wedge-shaped members, one shorter thanthe other, and the two presenting inner surfaces in bearing contact, andmeans for guiding the members in their relative movement, said meansincluding a raised portion on one of said members, and a recessedportion in the other of said members, said raised portion and saidrecessed portion being formed in their lateral edges with complementaryinteritting elements located in their entirety in offset relation to theplane of the bearing surfaces.

1l. A justifying spaceband including, in combination, a pair o1"relatively movable complementary wedge-shaped members, one shorter thanthe other, and the two presenting inner surfaces in bearing contact, theshorter member having a raised portion presenting at its opposite edgesa pair of shoulders spaced from the lateral edges of said member toprovide marginal portions thereon, and the longer member having adepressed portion presenting shoulder recesses likewise spaced from thelateral edges of said member to provide marginal portions thereon, andcomplementary intertting elements formed in said raised and depressedportions and arranged adjacent the shoulders and the recesses,respectively.

12. A justifying spaceband including, in combination, a pair ofrelatively movable complementary wedge-shaped members presenting innersurfaces in bearing contact, said surfaces being machine-ground toprovide a smooth and easy sliding motion between the two members, andinteriitting complementary means formed on the two members for guidingthem in their relative sliding movement while holding them againstrelative facewise displacement.

13. A justifying spaceband including, in combination, a pair ofrelatively movable` complementary wedge-shaped members, one shorter thanthe other, and the two presenting inner surfaces in bearing contact,said shorter member having a raised wedge-shaped portion formed in itsopposite edges with grooves adapted to intert complementary tongueportions formed on the longer member, the bearing surface of the shortermember being located beyond the outer lateral eX- tremities of thegrooves.

14. A justifying spaceband including, in come bination, a pair ofrelatively movable complementary wedge-shaped members, one shorter thanthe other, and the two presenting inner surfaces in bearing Contact,said shorter member having a raised wedge-shaped portion formed in itsopposite edges with grooves adapted to intert complementary tongueportions formed on the longer member, the bearing surface of the shortermember terminating short of the inner edges of the complementary tongueportions on the longer member.

ADELBERT L. CHILD.

